Twilight, Spike, and their friends leave the School of Friendship to embark on another adventure. To fill in during their absence, Twilight assigned a substitute teacher to cover for her and teach her History of Friendship class. When the students find out they begin discussing what pranks they should pull or how they can convince what they assume will be a pushover substitute to go easy on the homework.

The pony who walks through the door is not who they were anticipating.

Tempest Shadow had been surprised when Princess Twilight had offered her friendship. She had been even more surprised when Twilight stood up for her in her trial, helping her gain legal absolution from her past.

Now, she is trying to start with a clean slate, turning to the familiar military structure of Equestria's Night Guard. Upon arriving at the New Lunar Republic for her training, however, she finds that legal forgiveness does not mean Equestria has forgotten her past. Now, winning one instructor's good word is all that stands between her and moving forward with her life.

But why oh WHY did Princess Twilight have to send her to a pony so STUBBORN?

Her plans are foiled, nopony seems to bear a grudge and the Friendship Festival is in full swing. Tempest isn't in a partying mood and keeps to the sidelines, where she encounters an earth pony mare who knows a thing or two about screwing up your own life.

Takes place before Twilight Sparkle talks Tempest into showing off her horn powers through firework.

Starlight Glimmer. Trixie Lulamoon. Tempest Shadow. Three ponies that are definitely really great with foals. But there's no way they'll mess this up, right? They just have to keep Flurry Heart out of trouble for one night - what could happen in a couple hours?

Even though it's only been days since the Storm King's invasion of Equestria, Tempest has now been tasked to start learning about friendship. After an encounter with Starlight Glimmer, she joins the Reformed Unicorn Mares group. Surely interacting with a few ponies can't be too hard, right?

That's how some would describe what those two did. Maybe they're not wrong. But, we were just foals, and after everything I've done since then, how can I possibly consider myself any better?

These thoughts have plagued Fizzlepop Berrytwist, a.k.a Tempest Shadow, ever since the Storm King invasion was thwarted several months ago. Unable to run from her demons any longer, Tempest returns to the place where it all began in the hopes of reconnecting with all those she left behind.

In the aftermath of the Storm King's power play, Tempest Shadow finds herself at a crossroads once again. She hasn't been banished, but no party can change the festering feeling of being out of place. Exploring the caves underneath Canterlot, she stumbles upon an odd, crimson shard, and a spirit of a lost king who promises to mend her broken horn—and while he's at it, to help her get her old life back.

Tempest Shadow would be the first pony to tell you she's not worthy of friendship. All she deserves after a life spent helping the Storm King conquer and pillage is four walls, bars, and solitude. But she's getting a new life in Ponyville anyway, at the side of Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.

Tempest Shadow isn't a friendship kind of pony. She's not a party kind of pony. She's not a happy kind of pony in the least. So what could there possibly be for her in Ponyville? More than she thinks, as it turns out. Come join her as she discovers what she's truly meant to do, what she's truly worth, and who she's truly meant to be with. Her life is going to change far more than she ever would have expected.

It has been two months since the invasion of Canterlot and Equestria is learning to heal. But even with Hearth's Warming around the corner, one pony can't find it in herself to be cheerful.

Tempest Shadow, still haunted by the memories of her actions, is desperate to find a way to prove she's changed. Hoping to help, Twilight asks an old friend for assistance. One who'll force Tempest to face her demons, whether she wants to or not.

The day after the Friendship Festival, Fizzlepop Berrytwist, preferably known as Commander Tempest Shadow and previously Second-In-Command to the dreaded Storm King, awakens to realize she has three problems:

Her service has ended, her armor removed and tucked away deep in a locked chest beneath her bed. But Fizzlepop Berrytwist hasn't escaped her past just yet. Memories of actions taken in the Storm King's service haunt the mare formerly known as Tempest Shadow.

Back when she was a filly, Tempest made the decision to run away from her home. Away from those that loved her. And, unknowingly, began a path of harm and ruin. Now, years later, Tempest has achieved what she never thought possible. She's in a wonderful relationship and is surrounded by close friends. And, most importantly, she thought she had finally escaped her past.

However, during the annual Hearthfire visits for Hearth's Warming, she's suddenly asked to return to Wintertide village, the place of her birth. In just under a week, she has to make a choice. Face her past.

There's a new filly in Celestia's school, who finds making friends difficult. She's seated next to a filly who could care less about making friends. Neither is exactly friend material... but sometimes you just have to take a risk...

The Cutie Mark Crusaders have dealt with all kinds of ponies having trouble finding their true calling in life, but none can compare to the special request they receive from Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, or the shock they receive on discovering who it is: Fizzlepop Berrytwist, possibly the most hated and feared pony in generations. Can a pony who's spent most of her life rejecting her true calling possibly find it now? Can the Cutie Mark Crusaders help a pony who almost everypony else in Equestria has rejected?

While spreading word of the Storm King's defeat, Tempest stops in a cafe. Given her past, nopony wants much to do with her. Except for Sunburst, who couldn't care less. With nothing else to do for a few minutes, they begin talking, mostly about magic. Sunburst's got a theory.

When the world tried to knock her down, Tempest Shadow just got back up and made herself stronger than ever before. Never again would she be left to the mercies of a cold and uncaring world. Her eyes had been opened to the truth of the world: that strength was all that mattered.

Four by hundreds of hooves, they march in dreary lockstep towards their cages, to serve their fate as beasts of burden. From all over the nation they came to this place in the name of friendship, but now their colors are struck and their ears drooped; scorching sulfur invading their nostrils as heavy chains bear them into capitulation.

Tempest Shadow, commander of the armies of the north and mistress of her own name, has subdued the capital of the largest nation in the known world without a single casualty on either side. She has bested three of the four legendary alicorns in combat, and chased away the last. Every obstacle in her way has been found wanting...save for one.

Tempest Shadow finds the path of reformation is not easy for her... it just doesn't feel right. Then she learns of a disquieting trade going on in the Southlands... and then a close friend is ponynapped... and she discovers exactly the kind of pony she is meant to be.